Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-12-09
CONQUERED AND coNouEsens.
The Contempt In Which the Arabs Of Al
geria Hold Their French RnIers

GcE1A noth EFtuen
AT that ball, as during the whole of my
stay In Algeria, nothing sstonlshed me
more than the evident contempt enter
tanned by the conquered for the conquer
ers: but they seem inclined TO make no
effort 10 throw off the yoke. II is as II
they felt that they We're conquered, not by
the French but by some inevitable fate
10 whose decree they must bow with un-
questioning submission. On the other
hand. the efforts which the French make
to concil:ate the Arabs are almost abject
in the fervor Of their humility. That
evening if one Of the sheiks condescended
10 stroll into the ball room half dozen
official personages advanced TO bid him
welcome, the governor and his wife over
whelmed him with attention and special
officer was told off TO walk by his side
and give him any Information he might
require. II this were done in the hope OF
exciting gratitude it was labor in vain;
the sheik received the advances Of his en-
tertainers with stately courtesy, but evil
dertly regarded all homage rs his Just due
Nor is ii only in the palace that this ex
traOrdinary inversion Of the usual rela-
tionship between the conquered and the
conquerors exists; in the streets. public
a~stilblicS, Tic SufIlt
are made by the French officials to avoid
all cause Of Offense The gendarmerie
and the soldiers are literally hidden away
in dark hooks and caves, lest their pres
ence should wound the susceptibiiities of
the native race; and on the few occasions
when they must necessarily he brought
to the fore. apparently they receive pri-
vate instructions that the Arabs are not
To lxA -. t...Is %
tyrannies which It 50 delights the soul Of
French official To practice On his own
countrymen.
An amusing instance of this occurred at
the Algiers races. n few days after the
ball. A part Of the ground near the grand
stand was surrounded by red cord, as a
sign that the public was excluded.
Through some misunderstanding motley
crowd Of Europeans broke down the red
cord and crowded into the reserved space
The gendarmes. Aristling with fury, rode
into their midst, and. striking right and
eft with perfectly unnecessary violence,
drove the people away. Some half houi
later the same thing occurred; again tlts
red cord fell, and crowd took possessiS
Of the reserved ground; but this time tie
crowd was Arab, evidently Of the poorest
class, but still Arab. | expected a repe-
tition Of the former scene, but to my as
tOnishment one gendarme looked at an
other. he made Il sign to third, who
.ooked for directions to fourth; but no
one ventured to address the intruders.
At length some official Of Importance
was sent for, and after considerable de-
lay. hesitation and consultation, this per-
son did summon sufficient courage TO ride
up to the inciosure: but, far from there
being any signs Of the violence and abuse
to which the Europeans had been sub
jected. he bowed TO the Arabs as if they
were sovereign princes and he the most
lOwly OF their subjects. In the blandest
Of tones he apologized for disturbing them,
and entered into the most elaborate eX-
PLANTATION of the why and wherefore Of the
case but all his prayers and entreaties
were In vain. The Arabs listened to what
he said with courtesy equal to his own;
the staid gravity Of their faces never re-
laxed, but move they would not, and did
not: and at length the officer rode away
with gesture Of despair, and gave orders
that they were TO be left in possession Of
the ground.-All the Year Round.